Kol Mikaelson is finally back — in the flesh! — on Friday’s The Originals (The CW, 9/8c), and I’m pretty sure Nathaniel Buzolic speaks for the entire fandom when he tells TVLine, “It’s been a long time coming.”

Like most of us, Buzolic was never really sure if we’d ever see Kol back in his original body, but there’s one thing he never doubted: “The fans of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries have been so passionate about wanting my character back in his natural body — or his real body, I should say. It’s been so flattering for me.”

Below, Buzolic previews Kol’s new lease on life, his future with Davina and how he pays tribute to Daniel Sharman’s take on the character:

TVLINE | Kol is such a fun character. What did you miss most about him while you two were apart?
I love how different he is from the other Originals; his cheekiness is an important part of the family dynamic. Every family has the black sheep — the cheeky, naughty kid that always has something to say. It’s fun playing that character because he’s unpredictable in every situation.

TVLINE | I feel like he’s the most relatable Mikaelson sibling.
Yeah, exactly. He’s the naughty, cheeky kid we all want to be, even if we’re not always brave enough to commit to the actions.

TVLINE | What would you say his priorities are now that he’s back among the living?
First of all, he’s very much indebted to Davina for not giving up on him. She’s the only character who really committed to bring him back; you’d think his brothers and sisters would have helped, but I guess they got distracted. It’s really the first time someone has put him first in a loving way, so everything falls on his love and respect for Davina.

TVLINE | I’d love to see Kol and Davina go on some nice, quiet dates — but I feel like things will be too hectic for that to happen.
[Laughs] Hey, you never know. New Orleans is an interesting place, and there’s always something going on. But I agree, I think a lot of the fans would like to see these two on a few dates.

TVLINE | Given that the Kol/Davina relationship originated with Daniel Sharman playing Kol, how did you and Danielle Campbell find your own chemistry?
I have a great admiration for Danielle; we get along really, really well, which I think made it easy to find our chemistry. I’ll admit that I didn’t watch all of Daniel Sharman’s episodes, so I had to ask Danielle a few times, “This is a reference to something Daniel did, right?” So I was like, “OK, I’ll do that for a few episodes, but then I’m bringing Nathaniel Buzolic’s Kol back permanently.” When you have two people playing one character, you kind of have to find a balance.

TVLINE | And what’s Kol’s new dynamic with his family? I imagine they’ll be surprised to see him.
It’s a really great episode. Now that the sire link has been broken, Klaus is a sitting duck. He gets into a position where he’s really relying on his family to help him overcome his enemies. As you can imagine, not many people like Klaus. He can probably count his allies on one hand. With my character’s return, he’s immediately put into a situation where he’s like, “Oh, here we go again. I’m back fixing Klaus’ problems.”

TVLINE | Dumb question: Has Kol ever met Freya?
Once, I think, during a Christmastime episode; but he didn’t know who she was at the time. So we’ve definitely interacted, but it’s still going to be one of those moments where Kol’s like, “I know this girl, but I don’t know where she’s from.” That’ll be quite an interesting discovery.

TVLINE | The Mikaelsons will have a ton of old enemies coming for them now that the link is broken. Will any of Kol’s old enemies come crawling out of the woodworks?
[Laughs] I’m sure there are some ex flames who would be upset that he’s back and in love with another girl.

And if that’s not enough to get you excited about tonight’s episode, there’s always this: